Summary
Morehead State University (MSU) is a public, co-educational university located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County, midway between Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia. The school was founded in 1887 as Morehead Normal School, a church-supported teacher-training school. It was taken over by the state in 1922. The school's name changed as its mission broadened—to Morehead State Normal School and Teachers College in 1926, Morehead State Teachers College in 1930, Morehead State College in 1948, and Morehead State University in 1966. The 2013 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report named MSU one of the top 25 public universities in the South.[3] MSU was recognized in 2013 by The Daily Beast as a top underrated school.[4] The school newspaper is The Trail Blazer. The campus is ranked among the safest in the nation.
Academics
64,000 persons have received degrees from MSU. 212 degree programs are available on the two-year, four-year and graduate levels through four colleges (Caudill College of Humanities, College of Business and Public Affairs, College of Education, and College of Science and Technology). Morehead State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[5] MSU is 1 of 5 institutions in the U.S. with a bachelor’s degree in space science. The University has erected a space tracking system in partnership with NASA. The second component of the Space Science Center opened in 2009 — a $16.6 million instruction and research support facility. It was the 1st institution in Kentucky to offer a complete degree program online, the Master of Business Administration (MBA). Two-thirds of the faculty hold doctoral degrees. The average class size is 18. The student body represents 112 Kentucky counties, 43 states and 31 foreign countries. MSU supports its missions of teaching, applied research and public service through an annual budget of more than $135.7 million. MSU claims the state's best computer-student ratio in its computer laboratories, as well as offering students a program to lease university owned laptops while enrolled.[6]
[7] School of the Arts
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
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Sport Management
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Arts
The Morehead State University Arts and Humanities Council, established in 2003, encourages dialogue and partnerships in the arts. Part of a larger initiative within the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Council works to develop cultural opportunities both on and off campus. Morehead, long known for its patronage of the arts in Kentucky with such organizations as the Kentucky Folk Art Center and the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music, was the childhood home of philanthropist Lucille Caudill Little. Named after Lucille Little, MSU's Little Company is a touring troupe of students in the Theatre Department that performs plays and conducts workshops for up to 100 schools in the area each year.
Morehead State University Historic District
A portion of the campus was named as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The contributing properties include the following buildings: the President's Home, Senff Natatorium (demolished in 2008),[32] Button Auditorium, Fields Hall, Camden-Carroll Library, Allie Young Hall, Rader Hall, Thompson Hall, and the Breckenridge Training School.
Morehead State Public Radio
Morehead State Public Radio (MSPR) is governed by the Board of Regents at Morehead State University. MSPR is operated by its flagship station WMKY at 90.3 FM in Morehead. WMKY in Morehead is licensed for 50,000 watts and serves more than 20 counties in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The WMKY studios are located in Breckinridge Hall on the campus of Morehead State University. Since 1965, WMKY has served the communities of eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio and western West Virginia. MSPR’s mission to the region is to provide programming that is educational, informative and entertaining. Through the work provided by a staff consisting of full-time directors, student interns, work studies and community volunteers, MSPR offers regional news, public affairs and documentary programming, as well as a variety of regional music programs consisting of classical, jazz and Americana. MSPR produces regular daily newscasts and in-depth features on people, places and events in the region.[33]
Athletics
MSU is a charter member of the Ohio Valley Conference in NCAA Division I and sponsors 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. The football Eagles compete in the Pioneer Football League of the Football Championship Subdivision. The basketball Eagles won the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, sending them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984. The coed cheerleading squad has won 20 national championships and the all-girl squad has seven national titles.[citation needed] The baseball team has won 7 Ohio Valley Conference Titles and the women's volleyball team has won the conference 5 times. At the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 13th-seeded Morehead State upset Louisville 62-61. It was the second NCAA Tournament win for Morehead State in a three-year span. The Eagles also beat Alabama State in the 2009 Opening Round game. The Eagles then faced 12th-seeded Richmond in the third round, which was only the ninth time in tournament history that a 12–13 match-up occurred in the round of 32.